Reunion
by m0nica
Summary: Three years after they broke up, Nancy and Ned both return to River Heights for Frank and Callie's wedding. Eventual smut.
1. Chapter 1

Nancy was hopeful that young adulthood would be her best years yet. Now a college graduate, Nancy was able to move out of River Heights and jump start her career. She was living in Boston in an apartment she shared with Bess. Being in a city was definitely better for Nancy, and the nightlife was certainly better for Bess.

Nancy hadn't spoken to Ned in a couple of years, but she knew he too had moved to the Boston area. He was still living with Burt, who was still seeing George. They were planning on moving in together soon, which _thrilled_ Nancy and Bess. The pair were tired of commuting back to River Heights to see her, as she was always unavailable while staying with Burt.

Ned and Nancy hadn't ended things in the most positive of ways. Ned had swore to Nancy that he was no longer going to let the fear of losing her run his life, and that lasted at least a year. It wasn't until Ned was a senior in college when he just couldn't do it anymore. As Nancy got older she started taking even more dangerous cases, and as Ned got older he realized how much he was missing. He would sit in his room, petrified in fear, if she didn't respond to his texts in a few minutes. He missed classes, parties, football games even, rushing home to ensure Nancy was going to be okay. He swore he wouldn't let the fear run his life, so he had to make it stop. When Nancy missed yet another anniversary because of a case, Ned threw a fit. No amount of apologies from Nancy could fix anything, as he knew it would never change. Nancy came home to Ned, expecting it to work out as it always did, but Ned wasn't having it. They both got misty eyed when he told her that he couldn't live like this anymore, and they both cried when he said it was over. Nancy was clear that she wanted him in her life, desperately even, but he knew that if he was in contact with her he'd still worry. He had to let her go.

It took Nancy an extra year to get her degree, considering all of the time off she took with her traveling. By the time she was out Bess and George were a year out, Frank and Ned had been out for two. Frank had proposed to Callie at her graduation party, and after a year long engagement everyone returned to Bayport for the ceremony.

Nancy, Bess, and George decided to stay with their families in River Heights for the long weekend. They came in on Thursday, spent the evening with their respective families and planned to meet up at Scoops Friday afternoon.

Nancy, as per usual, was the first one to arrive. She waited outside in the warm June sun, reading her book and sipping on her coffee.

That's when Ned arrived.

He saw her before she saw him. She was like a vision from the past. She was the only girl Ned knew who would still sit with a book opposed to scrolling down her phone. She was, as he suspected, several minutes early probably just so she would have time to sit in read that book. He noticed her coffee, which he knew immediately what she ordered. She was so engrossed in her book that he could watch her for a while and she wouldn't notice. It had been years since he'd laid eyes on her and he was disappointed by the feelings it evoked. His heart was pounding, his stomach churning, his breathing strained. He was reminded of the last time he saw her, tears rushing down her face and pure devastation in her eyes. He could still feel the way it hurt to see her like that, the way it hurt to lose her. Ned let himself feel the hurt again, but that quickly faded into admiration. She'd filled out a little bit since the last time he saw her. Her hair was slightly more blonde than strawberry now. She was still absolutely beautiful- completely drop dead. It was overwhelming.

As she went to turn the page, she glanced up. Her eyes met Ned's, and now his heart had stopped beating all together. She started to smile and Ned opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Ned, darling, over here!"


	2. Chapter 2

Nancy's eyes immediately shifted to the voice. Ned watched her eyes widen as she saw the source of the voice. His heart lurched and he yearned to just have a moment alone with Nancy.

"Ned!"

He turned around to see Deirdre, waving him down from another table.

"Nan, I-" Ned began, but he had no idea what he even wanted to say. The only things that came to his mine were "Wow, you look incredible" and "Just ignore her, I don't know who that is." But alas, Ned was in fact supposed to meet Deirdre, Nancy's ultimate rival, five minutes ago.

Nancy swallowed hard and offered Ned a soft smile before looking back down at her book. She tried to look calm and collected as she watched the love of her life sit with Deirdre, possibly the only person Nancy still really didn't like. Nancy had figured she'd see Ned at the wedding and had been preparing exactly how she'd look and exactly what she'd say, but now she was completely off guard.

 _Seriously, Deirdre?_

Nancy didn't want to be that girl who thinks negatively of her ex. She didn't want to think about how much of a downgrade she was or how Nancy had grown far out of Ned's league, and those thoughts wouldn't have helped anyway. When she looked at Ned every lost feeling had arisen back in her. All of the love and anguish had risen right back to the surface the moment she laid eyes on him, but now she felt just the same as the day he left her. She was, yet again, heartbroken.

She stared intently at that book, not reading a single word off the pages. She just needed to force herself to not look up at Ned. She couldn't help but wonder how long this thing with Deirdre had been going on. Were they serious? Deirdre had always been interested in Ned, but he had never shown any interest in her. Had she pushed him right into Deirdre's arms? Or was there always something there? Nancy had considered the fact that Ned might have been seeing someone, but never in a million years did she think he'd be with her. She almost felt... betrayed. She felt as if, in some way, this was a personal attack against her.

Bess and George felt the same exact way. They went a whole fifteen minutes before noticing the pair. Bess was enraged and had to be restrained from stomping over there and throwing her milkshake at him. George focused intently on Nancy, apologizing a hundred times. She cursed Burt for not letting her in on this.

Nancy was doing well at holding her resolve, but she couldn't help but look up at the sound of the chair moving and Deirdre's voice calling out "Thanks, hon!" That's when she saw Ned, empty glass in hand, walking to the door of Scoops- walking right towards her.

Bess, the magician she was, turned on her feigned friendly smile and stood up to give Ned a hug. Nancy wondered if that was really a fake hug or if Bess was legitimately excited to see an old friend. She couldn't blame her if she was, Ned had been in their lives for years. Still, she hoped this was Bess just trying to play nice.

Ned hugged her back awkwardly, not taking his eyes off of Nancy for a second. He didn't notice the way George had cut her eyes at him or the way Deirdre was watching him. He just noticed the subtle blush of Nancy's cheeks, a clear cut sign she was as nervous to see him as he was her. He had so many questions to ask his mind was reeling. _Are you still sleuthing? Where are you working? How is your dad? Are you seeing anyone?_

Instead of formulating any of the questions into words, he panicked and blurted out "Deirdre needs another shake" and bolted into the store. He set the glass on the counter, silently asking Toni for refill. He rushed into the bathroom and wet his hands, running them through his hair and splashing his face. He was hoping the cold water would wake him up from this dream. He wasn't sure if he wanted to wake up three years ago, lying in bed with Nancy, or if he wanted to splash his feelings for her right out of his body. Either way, it wasn't working.


	3. Chapter 3

Bess turned to make sure Ned was out of ear shot.

"Oh. My. _God_ " she breathed, "This can't be real. This is the Twilight Zone."

Nancy smoothed out her skirt, "I'm happy for them."

George scraped her spoon in her empty bowl, waiting for Nancy to meet her sympathetic gaze. After a moment, Nancy looked up from her book and grabbed George's hand. "I'm fine, George. Really."

George cocked her head, and Nancy just shrugged. She took another sip of her coffee, refocusing on her book. She had to go back a few pages, as she hadn't been focus on any of the words.

"What if she comes to wedding?" George pressed.

"She better not!" Bess cried.

"Bess, please" Nancy cooed, "It really is fine. I knew I'd see him."

"Not with her! She doesn't even _know_ Callie or Joe!"

Nancy let out a deep sigh and bit her lip. She opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by the sight of Ned speeding back to his table. Milkshake in hand, he dashed back to Deidre's side.


	4. Chapter 4

Bess was still ranting and raving about the encounter the whole drive to Bayport. Frank and Callie's rehearsal dinner was at a quaint little bayside restaurant in Bayport. It was a place Nancy had spent a lot of time with over the years. It was one of her and Ned's regular date locations when they wanted to get out of River Heights for an evening. Nancy had pictured her reunion with Ned a thousand times. She wished she could've been prepared like she was now.

Bess and George had convinced Nancy to wear a dress so tight she could barely breathe. Nancy's subtle curves were emphasized by the cling of the fabric. The dress loosened up at the legs, but Bess ensured that the long slit was showing an adequate amount of Nancy's legs. Bess had lost quite a bit of weight since she moved out of River Heights, so her dress was just as showy. This gave Nancy some solace. Kindly, she was excited to see how people reacted to Bess as well. She really did look fantastic. Nancy felt blown out the water.

This, however, was not how Ned felt at all. Ned watched the doors of the restaurant like a hawk, waiting for Nancy to arrive. He'd practiced what he'd say about a million times. The moment he saw her walk through the door, his plan left his mind.

"Holy _shit_." Joe breathed, pushing through the crowd to get to Nancy. Ned hoped no one could see his icy glare tracing Joe's path. Burt patted his shoulder, startling Ned out of his trance. "Man, you poor son of a bitch" he teased. Ned rolled his eyes and ducked further into the room, hoping Nancy hadn't seen him yet.

She hadn't, but she was searching the room frantically. She didn't know Frank and Callie knew so many people, but the room was packed. She recognized a lot of friendly faces, but she figured a wide variety of guests must've been people Frank has solved cases for. She held the back of Bess's dress, following her through the crowd. She greeted Burt briefly, but he was distracted showing off Bess's new engagement ring to all of their friends. Burt had proposed a few weeks prior, and everytime it came up Bess lit up like a Christmas tree.

Nancy let Bess and Burt drift off. She looked around in the crowd, wondering if Ned was even here. Had she startled him yesterday? Maybe he couldn't bring Deirdre, so he wasn't interested in attending? A tap on her shoulder stole her attention.

"Joe!" she shrieked, throwing her hands around his neck. He picked her up and spun her around. "If it ain't Miss Nancy Drew! Don't you look ravishing!"

"You don't look too bad yourself, Hardy. You clean up nice!"

"Shucks, Drew. You flatter me." Joe laughed, spinning Nancy under his arm.

Nancy was glad things weren't weird with Joe. After things ended with Ned, Joe was a major point of support. He listened to her cry and told her she deserved better. When Iola died, Joe sought comfort from Nancy as well. After a particularly painful night, Joe and Nancy shared a single passionate kiss. They realized fairly quickly that had been a mistake, but Nancy always wondered if Frank ever told Ned. They'd remained close, but even Joe commented on how Ned had started to pull away since that night. Ned was still a groomsman, so Nancy figured that Ned couldn't possibly be upset anymore, even if he did know.

Ned hadn't had his suspicions confirmed, but he was certain something was brewing between Nancy and Joe. He'd always been more worried about Frank, but once he started with Callie there was no turning back. Ned's imagination was much worse than the truth when it came to Nancy and Joe's relationship, and watching the two of them laugh together made Ned nauseous. The more time they spent together, the lower Ned's resolve was. He knew he had to approach Nancy eventually, just to say _something_ , but everything he had planned had completely left his mind. He stayed in the corner with Dave and George, bopping to the music and keeping his thoughts off the soft cling of Nancy's dress as she swayed in time with Joe.

Ned's seat at dinner couldn't have been farther than Nancy's, something intentional on Callie's part no doubt. He was proud of how well he focused on the celebration, not once letting himself sneak a peek. He didn't meet her eye until he stood up to do his toast. He could feel the heat radiating from her gaze. Her expression was impossible to read, while he was transparent as ever. She'd mastered her poker face, but Ned was an open book. To keep his cool, all he could do is offer her a meek smile and continue his toast, telling embarrassing stories and sweet anecdotes about Frank.

As the night wore down, Ned had fully convinced himself that not talking to Nancy was far weirder than trying to be friendly. He was worried everyone had taken note of this, and that he looked even more a fool than he already did. As Nancy headed for the coat check room, Ned knew it was now or never. He took one last swig of champagne and made a run for it.

"N-Nancy!" He called after her, his voice shaking.

Nancy spun around slowly, flashing her classic bright smile, "Hey, Ned."

Ned realized that he hadn't prepared for what he'd say next. No time to think, he sputtered out "How was your ice cream today? At Scoops?" He cringed.

"Oh, you know. Scoops is great. I've, uh, missed it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, it was good to see Antonia. She's mayor now, you know."

"No kidding. Yeah, Scoops is great. Have you been back to River Heights a lot then?" Ned pried.

"Yeah, I try to. I don't want to leave my Dad alone too much."

Ned nodded. This was a classic Nancy response. She was so kind.

"I haven't actually moved out I guess" Nancy blushed, "I stay in River Heights in between cases. No point in moving out, really."

"So you're still sleuthing then?" Ned knew she would be. He never expected her to give that up. He never really wanted her to give that up, at least not seriously. Thinking about her on these dangerous cases made him nauseous. It made him even more worried that she doesn't have someone to check in on her like he used to.

Nancy only nodded in response. She figured he was dissatisfied with her answer, but he certainly didn't show it. Talk of sleuthing reminded her of the last time they talked about sleuthing- the last time they talked about anything. She was going to miss his football game for a case in Russia, and that seemed to be the last straw. She couldn't think about that right now.

"Well, goodnight Ned. Good seeing you." She grabbed her coat off the rack and headed out the door.

Ned wanted to hit himself. As per usual, he was an awkward mess. He had so much to say, he was almost surprised he didn't just blurt out his profession of love to her. He was amazed by how captivating she still was and the hold she still had on him. In his dream scenario, Nancy would see him and immediately beg and plead for another chance. She'd profess her love to him and tell him that he was all she had thought about for the last three years. Ned knew he'd think about it, but seeing her in real life made clear that by the end of the weekend he would probably be the one begging her.

Instinctively, and perhaps influenced by several glasses of champagne, Ned ran out the door after her.

"Nancy!" he called. She turned around, but didn't walk towards him. She stood in place, politely smiling at him. She was also so collected. He was envious of that.

"I'm, uh, I'm not dating Deirdre or anything" he shrugged, suddenly embarrassed.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she just heard I was back in town and wanted to meet up. I just thought that maybe you'd think something was going on, but it isn't. And never has." Ned was aware of how awkward he was. His original speech was going to much smoother. His awkwardness had clearly spread to Nancy, as she couldn't even find words. She just smiled again, and turned back towards her car.

Ned cursed himself. He felt like a blithering idiot, trying to make amends with a girl who seemingly hadn't given him a second thought. It was unnerving how calm she was. Ned had figured it was his insecurity that told him Nancy hadn't cared much for their relationship towards the end, but maybe that was the truth. Maybe her last three years were grand. Maybe she was seeing someone else. Maybe she was really with Joe.

"Nan, wait." Ned pleaded, "Can we talk?"

"What's up, Ned?" Nancy's smile was wavering. Ned couldn't tell if she was nervous, or just didn't want to speak to him. Either way, he'd already opened his mouth. He had to say something.

"I just wanted to catch up. I feel like I have no idea how your last few years have been." Ned tried.

"Well, you said you would reach out to me when you were ready" Nancy shrugged, "Then you never did."

"Oh, I- yeah, I guess I didn't. I'm sorry about that Nancy." He was caught off guard by her directness. That was as close to an outburst as Nancy really got.

"I just, I didn't think you wanted to talk to me anymore. That's all." Ned bit his lip. That was true, he was so incredibly afraid of talking to her. He'd typed out messages and even driven to her door, but he'd built up the courage to follow through.

"I never said that." Nancy winced. It was clear her wounds had never fully healed.

Ned, again, was rendered speechless. He was so nervous he could vomit. Whether it was true before, it was now abundantly clear Nancy didn't want to speak to him. Still, while he had her here, he had to try.

"Nancy, I was such an idiot." Ned looked at her pleadingly, hoping she could sense how sincere he was. He hoped she could understand his remorse, "I handled that situation, my feelings, so terribly wrong. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Ned. Thank you." Nancy played with her keys in between her fingers, deciding whether not she should leave.

It was clear he wasn't going to get anything out of her with any subtlety. He decided he needed to ask her more directly, "Nancy, how did you feel when we broke up? Really?"


	5. Chapter 5

"It seemed reactive to me," Nancy whispered, "Like you were just angry, and that I could make it up to you somehow."

Nancy cleared her throat. "So I tried to. I went to that game, the one against Bayport."

Ned snapped his head up. His eyes started to water. "You were there?"

Nancy nodded, "Yeah, I dragged Bess with me. I didn't want to distract you, so I made sure you couldn't see me. I wanted to wait until the game was over to surprise you." Nancy started to get misty eyed as well. She feigned a smile, "And you won. You played so well."

Ned took his fists out of his pockets and folded his arms. "Why didn't you say anything? I never saw you."

"I started going down to the field, but you were with the cheerleaders. You seemed pretty content."

Ned opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Nancy tried to blink away the tears. The memory was so painful, even years later.

"That's when it occurred to me that maybe it wasn't reactive. Maybe I couldn't fix it." She took a steep breath, "Maybe part of the reason you didn't want to be with me anymore, maybe a reason you didn't want to say, was that you wanted to have fun. It was your senior year, and we'd been together for so long, I thought you just wanted to…" she couldn't come out with the words without breaking out in sobs.

He couldn't even look at Nancy. He scrubbed his face with his hands, trying his hardest to stop the tears from spilling over. He was so overwhelmed with emotion, with sadness, frustration, and with _love_. He had spent years thinking Nancy gave up. When he blurted out those immortal words during a heated telephone conversation, he figured she just didn't care enough to argue. He knew what he had done was stupid. He knew he was wrong for breaking up with her over the phone, and he knew the moment the words left his mouth that he didn't mean them. _I can't do this anymore, Nancy. We can't keep doing this._ He remembered how bad they tasted in his mouth, and how desperately he wanted to take them back. The ringing of her voice, whispering _Are you breaking up with me?_ hadn't left his mind since. He would always blame himself for his silence that followed. He had so much to say to say to her, but he didn't. Until today, the last words he'd heard her say were _If that's what you want then. Goodbye, Ned_. He was so frustrated with his stupidity, so frustrated with hers. He was so heartbroken to relive this, and to see how he could've fixed it. Most of all, he was overwhelmed with his love for her. She gave up a case just to come to his football game, to win him back. She cared. He was determined now to make the same mistake. He had to say something.

"Nancy," he breathed, "Oh my God, Nancy. If I would've known-" He gave himself a moment to compose himself. "Nancy if I would've known you were in that stadium I wouldn't have talked to a single other person. Hell, I wouldn't have even played the game. I would've run right to you."

Ned reached for Nancy's hand. He pulled her closer, lifting her chin to meet his eyes. "Nancy, I didn't want that. I wanted to be with you. God Nancy, I wanted you so badly."

"But you said-" Nancy started.

Ned was sputtering, "I was a child. A stupid, _stupid_ child. You had a case, and you were going to miss my game. It was my senior game, my last one, and I wanted you there. George and Bess were always there for Burt and Dave. I was the only guy on the team who didn't have his girl in the stands. I was so worried for you, I was so angry with you, and I just- I said something stupid. I said something so stupid. And I wasn't man enough to take it back. I was so prideful back then. I just, I felt so… insignificant around you."

Ned moved his hand from Nancy's chin to her neck. He leaned towards her ever so slightly, testing the waters. She looked deep into his eyes, "There has never been a day where you were insignificant, Ned." Ned pulled her against his chest, stifling her sobs with his chest. He smoothed her hair, cooing "It's okay, Nancy. It's okay. It wasn't your fault." He pulled her as tight as he could, relishing the feeling of her in his arms again.

After a brief minute, Nancy gently pushed herself away from his chest. "I'm sorry, Ned. I never meant to make you feel that way."

Ned hushed her, "You didn't. Oh no, Nancy, you didn't!" He longed to pull her back into his embrace, but he stopped himself. He couldn't blow it this time.

Nancy took another step back and shook her head, trying to reset herself. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and feigned a small smile. "I'm sorry for getting so… emotional."

"No, it's fine! I can't even tell you how happy I am to talk to you again. I can't even tell you how relieved I am to hear you say all this."

"Yes, me too." Nancy nodded, her eyes fixated on the ground again. Ned reached for her again, but she stepped out of his reach. He let his hand hang in the air for a moment before dropping it down, stuffing it into his pocket.

"I'm glad there's no hard feelings" Nancy smiled. Her words knocked the wind out of Ned.

"What? Nancy, I-"

"Seriously, I'm glad that we've had this… closure. I'll see you tomorrow then." Nancy walked as swiftly as she could to her car, before she couldn't stop her tears anymore and she broke out into a full out sprint.

Ned, just like the first time, just let her go.


End file.
